Today marks the 500th post on Blue Ink Alchemy. I thought it might be fun to take a peek at the last few round-number milestones, just to see how far we’ve come. Oddly, two of the four hundred-level posts have to do with Maschine Zeit. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

Post 100: Consistent Characters

Say what you like about Stephanie Meyer, the character of Bella Swan remains co-dependent and nearly obsessed with Edward throughout her books, so at least she got the consistency right.

Post 200: I’m Gay for Twain

As far as I’m concerned, the stations are, have been and always will be so many tons of next-generation bullshit at the end of really, really long tethers. It’s the only reason they haven’t stinking up the planet.

Post 300: Game Review: Maschine Zeit

Not everything will go as planned, of course, but when thing are at their darkest and most terrifying, there’s a chance, built into the game’s narrative structure itself, that a player in that situation will seize control of it by saving a fellow player or destroying the monster-thing with an ingenious trap or uncovering some forbidden truth or getting that bit of magical metal to do exactly what they need it to do. Arriving at those moments, taking the reigns of the narrative and watching the dice fall into place as fate agrees to allow that moment happen, is the very essence of Maschine Zeit.

Post 400: Epilogues: Essential or Evil?

Epilogues are interesting creatures. On the one hand, they allow a “where are they now” recap of the stories of your characters, the opportunity to tie up loose ends. On the other, they take place after the principle action of the narrative, perhaps in an arbitrary or artificial fashion.

As always, thank you for reading. Your interest and eyeballs make this possible.